15:11a

A man is not defiled by what enters his mouth: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as defiled means “made unclean or made something ritually unacceptable.” Many English versions translate this word as “unclean.” In this context, it means “unfit before God.” It does not mean “dirty.”

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

It is not what people put into their mouths that makes them unclean (New Century Version)
-or-
the thing that makes a person unclean ⌊in God’s eyes⌋ is not what he puts into his mouth
-or-
The food that you put into your mouth does not make you unfit ⌊before God⌋

15:11b

but: There is a contrast here. The contrast is between what goes into a person’s mouth (15:11a) and what comes out of a person’s mouth (15:11b).

Here are some other ways to introduce this contrast:

instead
-or-
rather

by what comes out of it: The phrase what comes out of it refers to the words that a person says. The words that a person says show what is in his heart. If someone is right before God, he will say things that show that he is righteous. But if someone is not right before God, he will say things that show that he is not righteous. These bad words are what defile a person before God.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

it is what comes out of his mouth that makes him unclean/unacceptable ⌊in God’s eyes⌋

-or-

the things that make people unclean ⌊before God⌋ are the words that come out of their mouths

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